BC2

Chapter 2

It was like crossing into another world when the taxi sent to retrieve them passed through the checkpoint at the shield that separated the corper sector from the rest of the city. Gone, were dilapidated old buildings, cracked and pitted streets. They were replaced with tall structures of gleaming metal and glass reaching up into a clear blue sky. Here, the artificial lawns of pseudo grass were a uniform green color presenting a harmonious and invigorating atmosphere.
Mercedes inhaled deeply. The air was devoid of the toxins that plagued the rest of the city. This was thanks to the miracle of enviro filters that protected this sector from the pollutants that plagued the rest of the sprawling metropolis, just like the shield protected the coddled the citizens from the misery just beyond the wall.
They left the cab a few blocks from the building that served as the headquarters for the ITC and strolled down the well-maintained sidewalk that surrounded the facility through a park filled with fountains and statues. They tuned a corner and continued towards a huge dome building that resembled an arena constructed of blue reflective glass; headquarters for the Intergalactic Trading Commission.
Mercedes walked in slow measured steps, matching the pace of her partner, while she hobbled down the street. She thought back to the ride in
the cab that Reilly had sent to fetch them. The driver had not been able to tear his eyes away from Morgan’s impassive, and all too obvious synthetic facemask. On those rare occasions when she ventured out in public, Morgan would don it to conceal the ruined portion of her face from the gawking masses.
The mask, with its rigid, unsmiling lips and vacant stare, gave her a cold uncaring appearance. It looked more like doll’s plastic face than human, but it was all they could afford.
She couldn’t help but look down at her partner’s breasts hidden beneath the folds of the heavy full-length dark blue gown her colleague wore as she helped her up the steps, leading to the main door to the central lobby.
They weren’t real of course. Morgan’s chest, along with a good portion of her lungs and upper torso, had been ripped to shreds. The surgeon they could afford had managed to replace the internal organs with some synths at least. He grafted a smooth plasteel over her chest cavity to hold her innards stuffed in the ravaged cavity.
The woman had suffered much to save those people, to save her. If Morgan hadn’t taken the brunt of the explosion Mercedes, along with the
innocents at the spaceport would have died that day. Morgan had gambled the exosuit would protect her. She had lost.
A slight smile slipped upon her lips when she remembered the first time she had laid eyes upon Morgan. The woman was fresh out of the academy and eager to save the galaxy.
Mercedes had just lost another partner and had no desire for another, least of all this refugee beauty queen. Mercedes would have laid odds the petite young thing wouldn’t last a week in the field. Morgan however, had proven herself the best partner the veteran Enforcer ever had.
“Please state you business,” the harsh metallic voice squawked from the blue box attached to the door when they approached.
“Morgan Starr and Mercedes Deville to see Commander Thomas Reilly,” Morgan leaned over and said into the silver intercom attached to the side of the building.
There was a moment of silence while their credentials were verified by central security system. At last, the door swung open. “Enter please, the Commander is expecting you. He may be found on the third….”
“We know where the Commander’s office is,” Merc said over the monotone delivery. They passed through the huge sliding double doors, into the large building.
The long white hall was just how she remembered it, row upon rows of doors with placards of the names of the various corporations who were members of the ITC inscribed upon them. The first floor was where the representatives of the various corporations belonging to the ITC maintained their embassies.
There were companies in the universe not belonging to the ITC, however if a company wanted to expand. They eventually would need to petition for admission to the mercantile organization, or else be branded a rogue and face possible economic censure or worse.
Mercedes lit a cigarette as they approached the lift. Sometimes she wondered if maybe the ITC was a too heavy handed. She recalled the horrible stories old timers told of the aftermath of the Corporate Wars. No. Anything was better than to have the galaxy go through that again.
“You know smoking is not allowed in this building,” Morgan chastised, snapping Merc back to reality.
“What are they going to do?” Mercedes shrugged. “Fire me?”
“Do me a favor. When we reach Commander Reilly’s office, let me do the talking. I don’t want you getting into an argument with him and blowing our chances of getting those permits back,” Morgan said when they stepped into the lift.
“Please state your destination,” a musical female voice requested.
Morgan informed the device of the person they wished to see. There was a slight jarring motion. Soon they were on their way to the third floor
“I can be civil,” Mercedes replied defensively. “Besides, why should I give that bastard any respect? He didn’t do a damn thing when they drummed you out. Hell, he didn’t even stand up for me.”
“You sent the adjuster in charge of my case through a glass door after he rendered his decision.”
“Oh yeah.” Mercedes smiled as the image of the man lying prone on the ground surrounded by broken glass flashed in her mind. “I was angry.”
“Exactly,” Morgan pointed her finger at her partner. “You have no self-control. We need our permits back and that bastard, as you called him,
has the power to reinstate us. Plus the thousand credits will pay our rent for the next few months.”
“So you want us to kiss his ass I suppose.”
“If he presents it, we will and smile doing it.” Morgan nodded. “I don’t plan on ending up like Ricky.”
A shudder ran through Mercedes at the mention of Ricky. He was an Enforcer who had been injured like Morgan, losing both his legs and right arm. He lived in an old mail receptacle in Sludgetown, begging what he could from those who passed by.
Morgan and Mercedes always attempted to set aside a few credits to give him. He in turn, would share what information he learned on the street.
“That will never happen.”
“I intend to make sure of that.”
After leaving the lift, the women found themselves in front of a door with the name Commander Thomas Reilly in large gold lettering stamped on it.
“Is it my imagination or is his name in even bigger letters than before?”
“Possibly,” Morgan replied. “He always did have a swelled head.”
“But we are going to be nice to him.”
“Absolutely,” Morgan replied while she opened the door. “And stroke that big male ego of his. Now remember, let me do the talking.”
“Fine,” Merc muttered.
A lovely blonde girl, with sparking blue eyes, looked up from behind a large, black, oval desk as they entered the office “Mercedes, Morgan,” she chimed in a soft lyrical voice, flashing them both a sweet smile. “It’s so good to see you two again.”
“Likewise Lisa.” Morgan replied. “Is Commander Reilly available?”
“Yes,” she answered, pressing a button on a small touch pad on her counter. “He is expecting you, please go right in.” Morgan acknowledged her with a slight bow and entered the Commander’s office.
Commander Reilly sat at his large circular desk, with Vis screens mounted all around it. From here he could monitor nearly all activity in the building with the touch of a button. .
The office walls were simulated wood finish with copies of famous paintings hanging on the walls. At least Reilly claimed they were copies. Mercedes sometimes had her doubts.
“Mercedes good to see you,” he said offering her his hand. The deep blue Enforcer uniform was molded to his muscular form. She wondered how much of the impressive physique was real, and how much was a holo-illusion. After some hesitation, Mercedes reached out and accepted the outstretched hand.
“And Morgan,” he turned his attention to the other woman. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Not like you gave her much choice,” Mercedes snapped. The caustic remark earned her a withering stare from Morgan. Merc crossed her arms and leaned back against the closed door.
“Don’t mind her sir,” Morgan said. She lowered herself into the chair. ”It is good to see you as well.”
“Quite all right,” he waved his hand. “I understand there is some bad blood between us.”
Mercedes grunted in response.
“I’m certain you did all you could.” Morgan smiled
“Not enough,” he replied. “Though perhaps this might make amends for the past.” Reilly reached into his desk and placed two investigation permits on the desk.
“Our permits,” Morgan exclaimed gleefully. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m also authorized to upgrade your rig and provide Merc here with some state of the art weapons as well.”
“That is so sweet,” Morgan beamed.
“So what’s the catch?” Mercedes asked.
“Err… she means there must have been some reason you summoned us here sir,” Morgan added hurriedly.
Reilly leaned back in his large conforma-fit black simuleather chair. “Are you familiar with the name Bishop Leon Rimes?”
“You mean the religious figure from that backwater planet that has been urging people to return to the one true god?” Morgan inquired.
“Yes,” Reilly confirmed. “A return to a fundamentalist faith, back to a simpler time as it was.”
“Also the one that preaches all women should be in the house barefoot and pregnant,” Mercedes retorted. “Living only to serve their mate.”
“That too. His Church of the Eternal Light, as you may or may not know, has expanded beyond his home planet and picked up numerous converts throughout the galaxy. Apparently, he has struck a chord with a few people.”
“I still fail to see what some religious fanatic has to do with the ITC sir,” Morgan said. “Unless, of course, it is the fact his home planet is believed to have the richest deposit of Selonium ever discovered.”
“You have been doing some diving into restricted records. That information has not been leaked out to the public yet.”
“Cut to the chase.” Mercedes let out a bored sigh. “What does this have to with the ITC and us?”
“Bishop Rimes was on this planet to petition entry into the ITC. Naturally, the Enforcers were entrusted with his care, he being a visiting dignitary of sorts.” Reilly explained.
“But I thought only corporations may join the ITC?”

“True, but it seems the Church of the Eternal Light also owns a controlling share of Dynamix and they want to distribute the Selonium themselves.”
“You mean that he and his church operate its own business on the side,” Mercedes laughed. “No doubt his precious flock is unaware of this little fact. Some more of that old time religion.”
“They can’t be serious about letting him join,” Morgan said, flashing Mercedes a disapproving glare. “One person who is both a corporate and religious figure could be a potential threat to galactic stability.”
“Of course not,” Reilly snapped. “Several companies such as Xeon have already petitioned for mining rights. Still, he must be given the chance according to the charter. So we followed standard procedure and assigned several Enforcers to guard him during his stay while his application was being reviewed. The decision to deny him had already been reached, but the board had to go through the motions for appearances sake.”
Morgan nodded in agreement. Mercedes herself knew this was a delicate situation. The ITC couldn’t chance angering his precious flock.
“That is before everything went wrong.”
“What went wrong?” Mercedes asked. “Cut to the end Reilly, I’m tired of all these games.”
“He was kidnapped while under the protection of the ITC,” Reilly slumped down in his chair.
“Kidnapped!” Morgan exclaimed. “But when word of this gets out the border worlds there could be mass riots.”
“Yes. Its not like he was some CEO of a Mega Corp. Bishop Rimes is a charismatic religious figure. I’m certain his followers will think this is some sort of conspiracy to eliminate their savior.”
“Have the kidnappers issued any demands as of yet?” Morgan inquired.
“Yes,” Reilly nodded. “They want control of Dynamix to be signed over to an undisclosed third party and they want a public proclamation denouncing the faith as a sham.”
“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me,” Mercedes retorted.
“Unfortunately, too many people here at ITC feel the same as you,” Reilly sighed.
“If word of what happened gets out a religious war might very well erupt,” Morgan said. “I doubt his followers will stand for their messiah being in the hands of infidels, heathens or whatever they call unbelievers.”
“Exactly,” Reilly affirmed. “Now you know why we need you two. I need people outside the ITC on this.”
“So I take it you want us to find this Bishop for you,” Mercedes retorted. “How can we be sure he is even alive?”
“We can’t. We can only hope he is. Otherwise, like Morgan pointed out it could get really messy.”
“We would be happy to help,” Morgan said with a demure smile. “Now there is only the small matter of our fee. While the rig and permits are a good start, and I’m certain Merc will like the new weapons, this case sounds complicated and will take up a great deal of our time and resources.”
“I’m prepared to offer you a thousand creds,” Reilly replied.
“Oh please,” Merc sighed. “That doesn’t even cover our expenses on this mission. Plus you want this jerk brought back alive. That’s going to be another problem.”
“I’m afraid my partner is correct,” Morgan answered. “We will need at least ten thousand creds to even consider such an involved contract.”
“Are you serious?” Reilly gasped. “That is outrageous!”
“Of course, you do have the resources of ITC at your disposal. I’m certain they can handle this matter without any extra cost.”
“Five thousand provided the Bishop is alive, and you can have an ITC vehicle temporarily assigned to you as well.” Reilly countered.
“Our choice.” Merc demanded.
“Your choice.” Reilly heaved a defeated sigh. “Now will you take on the case?”
“We will get your reactionary fanatic back,” Morgan assured him as she arose from her seat.
“Pleasure doing business with you Commander,” Mercedes said with a smug look. She snatched up the permits before the pair departed the office.
“I just talked with the armory and the garage,” Lisa bubbled, when she spotted the two women exit the office. “They will be expecting you.”
“Thank you,” Morgan acknowledged.
“I also had a techie dispatched to your home right now. They should have your new rig set up before you arrive,” she added, running a finger over her electro pad. “It will be great to be working with you both again. Just like old times.”
“Yes,” Morgan said with a weak smile. “Just like old times.”
“So what do you think?” Mercedes asked while they made their way down the hall.
“He is either lying outright,” Morgan replied after a brief moment of contemplation, “or he isn’t telling us the whole truth.”
“Like that is anything new. So what do you think he is up to this time?”
“Remember when he said how many people in the ITC felt it would be better if this Bishop was eliminated once and for all?”
“Yes.”
“What’s more since when has someone under Enforcer protection ever been captured?”
“So you think it might have been an inside job,” Mercedes deduced.
“Not really sure,” Morgan shrugged. “But I’m guessing that Reilly thinks that might be a distinct possibility. I would wager that is why he wanted both of us here. If the conspirators in the branch see us it will be easy enough to guess why.”
“You think he is using us as decoys?”
“Yes,” Morgan nodded. “No doubt he was hoping that seeing us would cause the traitors to expose themselves when they realize outsiders have been brought in. They might even try to eliminate us and expose themselves in the process, thus rendering the ITC free of corruption again. Then he could proceed with the investigation without fear of it being further compromised.”
“Some things never change,” Mercedes grumbled.
“Seems that way,” Morgan sighed. “I’ll know more when I dive tonight and get access to the ITC files, the confidential ones that have the info Reilly is no doubt keeping to himself. That way we will know what our former fearless leader is hiding.”
“Tonight?” I thought you had a date tonight with….” She searched her memory for the name. “Todd wasn’t it.”
“It was Josh,” she corrected her, “and I had to break it off.”
“Why?”
“He was insisting we meet in person,” Morgan replied in a flat tone.
“Oh.” No more needed to be said. The two women walked together in silence.